General tools
Secret Santa generator
Draw who gives to whom, keep couples apart with exclusion pairs, and reveal each match privately. Everything runs in your browser - nothing is uploaded.
How it works
Secret Santa works best when the draw is genuinely random and nobody - not even the organizer - has to know who got whom. Paste your list of names, one per line, and the generator pairs each person with someone to buy for, guaranteeing nobody draws their own name. Add exclusion pairs for people who should never be matched - partners who live together, say, or two who swapped last year - and the draw avoids those pairings while keeping everything else random.
The matching is made with the browser's cryptographic random generator, and the results are revealed one at a time: each person clicks to see only their own recipient, so you can pass a single phone or laptop around the room without spoiling the surprise. Nothing is sent to a server, so the assignments never leave your device. If you set so many exclusions that no valid arrangement exists, the tool tells you rather than forcing an impossible draw.
Example. Enter six names, mark the two couples as exclusion pairs so partners are never matched, and press draw. Each name gets a "Reveal" button; tapping one shows that person their gift recipient and nothing else, then hides it again for the next person.
FAQ
How does the Secret Santa draw work?
Everyone is randomly assigned one other person to give a gift to, with two guarantees: no one is given their own name, and no pairing breaks an exclusion you set. The draw uses the Web Crypto random generator, so it is fair and unpredictable.
What are exclusion pairs for?
They stop two specific people from being matched - typically couples or housemates who would rather not draw each other. Add as many pairs as you need; the generator keeps the rest of the draw random while respecting them.
How do people see who they got without spoiling it?
Each name has its own "Reveal" button that shows only that person's recipient and then hides again. You can hand one device around the group, and nobody sees anyone else's match. The organizer can also copy the full list if they want a master copy.
Why did it say no valid draw was possible?
With too many exclusions there may be no way to give everyone a valid recipient - for example, in a group of three where two pairs are excluded. Remove an exclusion or add more people and the draw will succeed.